Lightbox

I created the Lightbox necklace during a moment of despair in 2021, so it’s not surprising that the dark or white tone of each angular gem — labradorite, moonstone, quartz and mabe pearl — deviates from my usual colorful materials. Perhaps my mind betrayed my hands, as I accidentally melted the first two versions of the central bezel, which was intended for a huge rectangular moonstone, with a natural crack-like inclusion. Each time I remade the bezel, I added a little something new, and in doing so, I grew more hopeful: not just that the necklace would turn out well, but that the sadness would also become more manageable. For the finished work, I oxidized the chain and bezels to echo the burned remains that came before, and the finalized central bezel has the words “How the light gets in” stamped on the back, a nod to Leonard Cohen’s “Anthem”: “Ring the bells that still can ring/Forget your perfect offering/There’s a crack, a crack in everything/That’s how the light gets in.”